October 5 – 13, 2013
”Ready to Respond” is a week long offering of courses to support your volunteer career development.
Pick and choose the courses you need to pursue your area of interest or take several classes to get a better understanding of other areas in a relief operation.
If you’ve got the time, we’ve got the training!
DIST: Disaster Instructor Specialty Training (DIST) is an instructor-led course designed to enhance and refine the presentation skills of instructor candidates for basic level disaster courses. This learning experience consists of a series of brief presentations and interactive discussions focused on the instructional techniques, course structure and delivery methods required to meet the diverse learning needs of participants attending disaster courses. Instructor candidates will enhance their skills through practice teaching in a model classroom environment with feedback and coaching provided by qualified DIST instructors.
DSO: Disaster Services: An Overview is a basic level course that provides an introduction to Disaster Services at the American Red Cross. The course engages participants through integrated video and interactive activities.
Public Affairs Workshop: The purpose of this course is to examine the scope and responsibilities of the Public Affairs activity, in order to provide a framework in which to apply your public affairs knowledge, skills and experience on disaster relief operations.
EOC Liaison: The purpose of this basic Disaster Services course is to prepare Red Cross employees and volunteers who will be assigned to government emergency settings to work collaboratively with Red Cross partners, helping to ensure a coordinated response that results in effective service delivery.
Please note there are prerequisites for this class: Sufficient operations knowledge and experience to provide a functional understanding of the concepts, principles and procedures associated with disaster assessment, sheltering, feeding, the provision of individual assistance and the basics of operations management needed to participate adequately in the discussions and activities contained in this course.
Chapter Response to Disaster: This course will orient disaster service volunteers to the chapter's initial response mechanisms. You will learn the skill and tools needed to effectively respond to single family emergencies and initiate response on larger events.
Bulk Distribution: Bulk Distribution Operations is an interactive course where participants engage in scenarios to learn how to apply the guidance covered in the Bulk Distribution Handbook. The handbook provides information and tools for use on disaster relief operations, chapter responses and in the classroom. Please note there are prerequisites for this class: Disaster Services: An Overview (DSO).
Shelter Fundamentals: Shelter Fundamentals is a basic level course that introduces the guidelines and procedures for setting up, running and closing a shelter during a disaster. Referencing shelter checklists, participants will work on a case study that takes them through four of the six phases of the Sheltering Cycle: Opening, Organizing, Operating and Closing.
International Humanitarian Law: Introduction to International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is intended to raise awareness among Red Cross representatives and general audiences about the Geneva Conventions, the basic rules of international humanitarian law, and the role of the Red Cross during armed conflict to implement IHL. Through a hands-on approach utilizing group activities, class discussion and multiple audiovisual aids, this newly-updated course invites participants to reflect on their images and perceptions of armed conflict and explore the powerful and fundamental concept of human dignity even in the midst of the excesses of war.
Logistics Overview: Logistics: An Overview is an instructor-led, basic level course designed to give participants an overview of the Logistics group and the activities associated with it. Participants will learn about the skills, abilities and knowledge needed by Logistics workers and how they can become involved in their local chapter.
Collaborating Essentials: Collaborating Essentials is a basic level, instructor-led course designed to promote and support collaboration at the Red Cross. Participants will engage in discussions and scenarios to determine the different skills and behaviors required for building and maintaining internal and external relationships. The course emphasizes the role that collaboration plays in the successful delivery of disaster services.
ERV: Ready, Set, Roll: The course provides participants with the opportunity to learn about and use an emergency response vehicle (ERV) and all related equipment. To attend the ERV orientation and take the road test, the following are required:
Completion of the first session of the ERVs: Ready, Set, Roll self-study or instructor-led training and course review.
Must be at least 21 years of age.
A valid driver’s license.
A clean driving record, verified by a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
To be eligible to drive an ERV, the following are required:
ERVs: Ready, Set, Roll course certificate (sessions one and two)
Current certifications in First Aid and CPR
Successful completion of an American Red Cross approved defensive driving course.
Successful completion of the online course, Basic Food Safety.
Psychological First Aid: Psychological First Aid is an instructor-led, basic level course. It provides a framework for understanding the factors that affect stress responses in disaster relief workers and the clients they serve. Participants engage in practice exercises and complete a self-review questionnaire.
Safe and Well Linking: Overview: Safe and Well Linking Overview is a basic, instructor-led course that details how chapters process welfare inquiries and outlines Safe and Well Linking activities on a disaster relief operation. It provides an overview of activity tools, the Safe and Well neighborhood, Safe and Well website and the Call Contact Capture System.
Disaster Frontline Supervisor + Simulation: Disaster Frontline Supervisor (DFS) is an instructor-led, basic level course. Participants receive the Disaster Frontline Supervisor Handbook, which provides disaster relief operations supervisors with tools that support their success. The handbook is for use on operations and in the classroom.
SIMULATION: The simulation builds on the information presented in the Disaster Frontline Supervisor (DFS) course. The simulation provides participants an opportunity to practice key supervisory skills and use the Disaster Frontline Supervisor Handbook as a resource. Please note there are prerequisites for this class: Applicants should have the training and experience equivalent to a Service associate in an activity in which she or he expects to become a supervisor.
Client Casework: Providing Emergency Assistance is a basic, instructor-led, video-supported course designed to train Red Cross caseworkers how to conduct effective client interviews and provide appropriate assistance to help meet a client’s immediate disaster-caused or disaster-aggravated needs.
Fundamentals of Disaster Assessment: The purpose of this course is to introduce the critical role of Disaster Assessment, explore related preparedness tasks, learn how to collect and communicate disaster assessment information, and become familiar with how disaster assessment information supports management and service delivery decisions.
Mass Casualties Disaster: Mass Casualty Disasters is an instructor-led, basic level course that combines a series of presentations and class discussions using real-world examples to explore the four types of mass casualty disasters and the planning and response role of the American Red Cross as part of an overall community response. This interactive learning experience culminates in a simulation of a mass casualty event where participants form teams, representing a Red Cross chapter, and must make decisions during the first 24 hours following the disaster event.
Foundations of Disaster Mental Health: Foundations of Disaster Mental Health is a basic level, instructor-led course that introduces the key concepts, knowledge and skills required of anyone assigned to the Disaster Mental Health (DMH) Activity. It provides participants the opportunity to apply their learning to real-world examples that reflect challenges experienced by DMH workers, be it on a Disaster Action Team response or serving on a larger disaster relief operation.
Chapter Response to Aviation Disaster: This class serves as guidance, and describes how air carriers and Federal agencies should respond to an aviation accident involving a significant number of passenger fatalities and/or injuries. It also goes into the key points of the Aviation Disaster Family Assistance Act, 1996.
Health Services Response Workshop: Health Services Response Workshop is a basic level, instructor-led course. It introduces licensed health professionals to the roles and responsibilities of a Disaster Health Services volunteer when working on behalf of the American Red Cross to meet the disaster-related health needs of clients. Course activities provide participants an opportunity to apply their professional knowledge, experience and critical thinking abilities to the work-related challenges experienced by Red Cross workers who provide immediate assistance to clients in the aftermath of a disaster.
Shelter Management: Shelter Management is an instructor-led, basic level course that introduces the roles, responsibilities and tasks of the shelter manager. Using the Sheltering Handbook, participants will work through a case study that takes them through four of the six phases of the Sheltering Cycle: Opening, Organizing, Operating and Closing. The Sheltering Handbook provides the guidance for Red Cross shelter operations and serves as the main resource for the course. A video of Red Cross shelter managers talking about their experiences is incorporated into the course. Please note there are prerequisites for this class
Red Cross Employees and Volunteers:
Red Cross Partners:
Weapons of Mass Destruction: Weapons of Mass Destruction/Terrorism: An Overview is an instructor-led, basic level course designed to create an awareness of the complex response issues and concerns associated with a weapons of mass destruction/terrorism (WMD/T) incident. This learning experience consists of a series of presentations designed to share information and generate thought-provoking, interactive discussions that orient participants to the real-world considerations of WMD/T planning and response.